Good morning, Minister. We are very glad to have you this morning, especially since we have invited you several times.
I would like to ask you a question. As part of our study of the Access to Information Act and of other studies conducted by this committee, we have questioned various witnesses, including Mr. Togneri. We have also invited other witnesses to appear, such as Mr. Dimitri Soudas. However, you know that Mr. Soudas was a no-show. Actually, he did accept our initial invitation, but unfortunately, the fire alarm went off. The circumstances were rather unfortunate, don't you think so? After that, we had to subpoena him.
The three of them were subpoenaed, and each time, you said that ministerial responsibility was involved and that the ministers had to appear. Last Tuesday, Mr. Walsh informed us that ministerial responsibility extended to your officials, but not to your political staffers. So then, the first thing we had was the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House issuing a legal opinion.
Then, regarding the Afghan detainee issue, on May 25—I'm not sure about the date—the Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken, also contended that you should, as a member of the government, submit to the will of Parliament—be it Parliament or a committee—and that Parliament had precedence over the executive power.
So, we have two opinions—Peter Milliken did not issue an opinion, he made a ruling, and Mr. Walsh issued a legal opinion.
Yesterday was the last possible day for Mr. Dimitri Soudas and the two others who were subpoenaed to testify to appear. You are, as Minister of Justice, the embodiment of law and order, so please explain to us why you think that it is okay for Dimitri Soudas, an employee of the Prime Minister, to not appear. Since you are Minister of Justice, sanctioning Dimitri Soudas' actions is tantamount to violating the laws and rules. That is what Mr. Peter Milliken told the House and what your law clerk told us in committee on Tuesday. Can you explain to us why the Minister of Justice is not complying with the law?